The Slaughter Solution: Tyranny, Or A Punt To The Senate?

First and foremost, a call to action for March 16th. Everyone who can possibly make it must show up in DC.

As for this so-called Slaughter Solution, my first impression is, it could go two ways.

Rather than Obama signing the Senate bill, it having been illegitimately deemed as passed by the House without a vote, the bill with fixes could go back to the Senate. That would allow Pelosi to punt, having not been able to muster enough votes for the Senate bill in the House - and setting up a final showdown in the Senate.

Now, if that doesn't happen, or it doesn't work, than we have a far more significant problem I hate to even contemplate. If the Senate bill, fixed or not, goes straight to Obama, we will have a law, a legislature and an executive branch the people would have every right to consider as illegitimate. From there, the people and, or some numbers of states, could choose to ignore them.

In short, all hell could break loose in parts of America the likes of which we haven't seen in 150 years. It's an extremely troubling thought. But I'm genuinely at a loss to see how doing anything else wouldn't consign future generations to what amounts to out and out tyranny. If one rules-making House member and one chief executive are empowered to establish law in America, then we cease to be anything resembling a democracy. Obama would be no better than a tyrant and the people would have every right to pursue his removal from office, or, as I said, consider the entire government illegitimate and in need of prompt replacement.

How we get to that point is about the last thing I want to contemplate. But it's impossible to see another path. Hopefully this all goes back to the Senate if this silly, non-democratic Slaughter Solution is employed and Obama never considers signing the Senate bill as voted upon by the Senate but not the House. Revolutions have been sparked by much less. And at best, we seem headed for the courts no matter what. One can hope, anyway.

The Slaughter Solution is a plan by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), the Democratic chair of the powerful House Rules Committee and a key ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), to get the health care legislation through the House without an actual vote on the Senate-passed health care bill. You see, Democratic leaders currently lack the votes needed to pass the Senate health care bill through the House. Under Slaughter’s scheme, Democratic leaders will overcome this problem by simply “deeming” the Senate bill passed in the House – without an actual vote by members of the House.

Comments

[Pete]

I hope the blood pressure pill that I took 30 mins ago is kicking in because your informative post raised it. I was mad as hell before at this "stuck on stupid Congress"--now I'm way beyond livid. The audacity of these idiots is incredible, and I'm talking about idiots in BOTH parties. I've had it with the hold damn lot of them. I can't wait until November 2, 2010. Payback is going to be a real bitch.

[Jane]

They're going to have to outlaw the "Schoolhouse Rock" episode on how a bill is actually supposed to work. But I wouldn't put it past them . . .

I was angrily cutting up branches in my yard yesterday, thinking up epithets.

I am so upset about losing my ability to choose my health care with MY own dollars. The free market is how we separate good products from bad products. We have no more powerful way to voice our opinion, apart from the ballot box, than with our dollars.

If they're willing to take away my ability to choose what I buy, and thus my freedom, it logically follows that they will do so by any means necessary.

[Rob Crawford]

"If one rules-making House member and one chief executive are empowered to establish law in America, then we cease to be anything resembling a democracy."

I don't want us to be a "democracy". I want us to be a republic, as was intended.

But, yeah, this "solution" would be the visible end of the US as a government of laws. Appropriate that it's named "Slaughter".

[MarkJ]

The "Slaughter Solution" isn't a solution at all. It's actually a Democratic Party suicide note.

[southdakotaboy]

Ok now that we are at this point the next step is to start taking very serious measures out in the open. What I mean by that is we need to stop speaking out against the violent removal of these people.

Conservative bloggers need to start publically calling on their readers to openly form militias. We need to let the Dems know that if they do this that we will tear down everything they have built and when we are done they will be driven from this country.

We have reached that point and it is time to admit that fact to ourselves.

[Ashen]

Please, let them procede. This country has been in need of a cleansing for a very long time. If they go this route, and war breaks out, it will be Tarleton's Quarter across the land. So let it be written, so let it be done.

[Peggy]

Whoa there, Southdakotaboy!

I am just as pissed, PISSED, as anyone here. But I do not think we have reached that point yet.

Believe me, I am not against revolution if it comes to it. We have the RIGHT in this country to change our government if we see fit and by force if necessary. But there is a heck of a lot we can still do before we get to that point. There is the vote. There is a still conservative SCOTUS on the field, and the states are already stepping up, or indicating that they will, to preserve their rights and the rights of their citizens under the constitution.

This fight is FAR from over even if they illegally pass the bill.

[cubanbob]

Some people here are way too hysterical. This bill will never pass and if the democrats attempt this stunt it will be tied up in litigation and the courts will toss the bill in to the trash can. Even if this bill were to pass by a majority vote in the house and Obama signs it, there are so many constitutionally dubious parts of the bill- the major points of it, that again the courts will rule against it.

[Ashen]

BTW, i'm in the Phoenix area and looking for a job. Any takers?

[FKD]

"In short, all hell could break loose in parts of America the likes of which we haven't seen in 150 years. "

Looks like Dan has turned full Glenn Beck at least on his attacks on the president, but he sure knows how to rile up the wingnuts loons, among his readers. Just look at some of the comments above.

PS. Chill-out paranoid lunatics. There's something called 'elections' every 2/4/6 years for the congress and POTUS. You can replace them(or at least have your say) if you don't like their actions.

[southdakotaboy]

Peggy I do hope that this can be settled peacefully. However if history proves nothing else it is that horrible things happen when one side mis judges the way the others feel of think.

My suggestion would send a crystal clear message to the Left in this country: This is the line you will not cross. If you do this is what will happen.

Now you can't tell me that if suddenly all across the country conservative poured out in the streets with guns and started openly training that the government wouldn't stop and think long and hard about what could happen.

The odds of a peaceful resolution to this go up if we stand up with an overwhelming display of force now rather then later.

[jd]

If this rule is being considered, it would be apt to call Obamacare Slaughtercare. It might get the message out that this is a. going to destroy our medical system, and b. destroy our government. On second thought, substitute destroy with slaughter.

[RW1965]

This is just sheer madness. Why don't the Dems just claim the Constitution is now null and void and just drive the final dagger into the heart of this country. A bipartisan plan without a bipartisan vote? Turn a bill into the law of the land without a vote? Hugo Chavez must be real proud of the progress Lil Barry has made this year.

[Warren Bonesteel]

So...what happens in 2011 when the Republicans own the House and Senate and...nothing changes...or it all gets worse?

What most of you fail to see is that we've been living under an oligarchic tyranny for at least sixty years. ...and that we aren't a free people in any way, shape or form.

[Huey]

So, we are talking about voting on a bill that isn't written being revised before it's passed and being passed without a vote?

Sounds about right.

[Jeff]

The problem is, if this passes, the November election won't undo the damage. The GOP could try to repeal the law, but Obama would veto, and it would be mathematically impossible to override with only GOP votes, even if the GOP won every senate race (because only 1/3 of them are up for reelection). And by the time 2012 rolls around, it will be too entrenched and encrusted to undo, just like every other entitlement program ever.

It's interesting... I write software for a living. When you write a new piece of code, it's nice and clean and fast and comprehensible. Then, over time, it gradually deteriorates as new features are added that don't quite mesh with the original design, code is changed by people who don't fully understand it, etc. Eventually it becomes a nasty, bloated, slow, incomprehensible mess and you just have to throw it out and start over. Perhaps government is the same way.

[Pinandpuller]

FKD

So these kind of folks will hold elections? Why-because the Constitution said so? Ha!